Choosing Your Surgery Date

When is the best time of year for cosmetic surgery?

There is no single best month for cosmetic surgery. For most larger operations, autumn and winter suit best, as long as you avoid recovering over Christmas: there is less sun on healing scars, compression garments are more comfortable in cool weather, and bruising is easy to hide under layers. Smaller operations can be done at any time of year. In the end, the right date is the one that gives you enough recovery before your work, family and social commitments, so this guide covers both: the seasons, and how to fit your recovery after cosmetic surgery around real life.

Whichever of our cosmetic surgery procedures you are considering, the same few factors decide the timing: sun exposure on new scars, heat and your compression garment, the time off you need, and any event you want to be ready for. The cosmetic surgery patient journey explains the steps between your first call and your operation.

Is it better to have surgery in winter or summer?

For most operations, winter is easier, but summer surgery is perfectly possible with care. The differences come down to three things.

Sun on new scars

Sunlight makes new scars darker and more noticeable. In a randomised trial published in Acta Dermato-Venereologica, small skin wounds exposed to sunlight after surgery were judged the most disfiguring at 12 weeks, with more colour and pigmentation than wounds kept out of the sun^[1]. Scars stay sensitive for months, so keep them covered or protected for at least the first year, whatever the season. In winter that happens almost by itself; in summer it takes more effort, especially on holiday. Read more about sun exposure and tanning on new scars.

Heat, swelling and your compression garment

After body and breast surgery you wear a compression garment for several weeks. In hot weather it feels warmer and some people are tempted to take it off, which is the opposite of what helps. Swelling can also feel worse in the heat. None of this is dangerous, but cooler months make the first weeks more comfortable.

Infection risk

Large hospital studies do show a small seasonal pattern in wound infections. An American population study of hospital admissions, published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, found 26.5% more admissions for surgical site infection in August than in January, with the odds rising as average temperatures climbed^[2]. A 2025 study of more than 300,000 bowel operations found the warm-month effect on superficial infections was small^[3]. Neither study looked at planned cosmetic day surgery in the UK climate, so this is a reason to look after your wound carefully in summer, not a reason to avoid it.

Winter has its own catch: coughs, colds and flu. If you are unwell before surgery your operation may need to be moved for safety, so read what happens if you get a cold before surgery and tell us early.

Cosmetic surgery season by season

The best time of year for your procedure

• Face, nose and eyelids. Bruising and swelling are on show for the first couple of weeks, and facial scars need careful sun protection, so autumn and winter suit best for a facelift, rhinoplasty or eyelid surgery. A rhinoplasty takes around a year to settle fully, so plan well ahead for any event.
• Breast surgery. Winter or early spring gives you several months of healing before swimwear season. For breast augmentation, a lift or a reduction, you wear a supportive bra for some weeks and avoid swimming until your wounds have healed and your surgeon agrees.
• Body contouring. Late autumn to early spring is most comfortable for a tummy tuck, liposuction or a Brazilian butt lift, because you wear a compression garment for several weeks and the results take months to settle.
• Combined operations. A mummy makeover or several areas at once means a longer recovery, so autumn surgery works well if you want to feel yourself again by the following summer.
• Smaller procedures. Operations with a quick recovery and small or hidden scars, such as ear correction or labiaplasty, are much less affected by the season.

Plan your surgery date

Choose whether you already have a surgery date in mind or an event to be ready for, then your procedure. The planner works out the dates that matter: when to have your consultation, when to stop smoking and some medicines, and roughly when you can go back to work, drive and exercise.

How far in advance should you book cosmetic surgery?

From your first enquiry to your operation usually takes four to eight weeks, and longer for complex or revision surgery. Within that, two things should not be rushed. We recommend taking at least two weeks after your consultation to think before you confirm a surgery date: the two-week cooling-off period. It comes from the Keogh review of cosmetic interventions and from GMC guidance on giving patients time to reflect^[4][5]. It is best practice rather than a legal rule, and we recommend it to every patient. And if you smoke or vape, you need to stop all nicotine four weeks before surgery and stay off it for four weeks after. A meta-analysis in the American Journal of Medicine found that stopping smoking before an operation cut complications by 41%, that each extra week of stopping added to the benefit, and that stopping for at least four weeks worked better than shorter periods^[6].

The simplest way to plan is to work backwards from the date you need to be recovered by:

1. Start with your deadline: an event, a holiday, going back to work, or simply a quiet spell at home.
2. Take off your recovery time for that operation, plus a margin of a week or two in case swelling or healing takes longer.
3. That gives your latest surgery date. Take off at least two weeks for the cooling-off period and a little more for your pre-operative checks.
4. That gives your latest consultation date. Booking your consultation earlier than this gives you more choice of surgery dates.

Your consultation is with the surgeon who would perform your operation, at the next available appointment. Preparing for cosmetic surgery covers everything to do in the weeks before.

Surgery before a wedding, holiday or special occasion

Allow longer than you think. Bruising fades within a few weeks, but swelling takes months to settle completely: around three to six months after breast surgery or liposuction, about six months after a tummy tuck, and up to a year after a rhinoplasty. If you want to look like your final result in photographs, work back from that, not from when you will feel well again.

• A wedding or big occasion. Give yourself at least the time your result needs to settle, plus a margin. If the date is close, it is often better to have surgery afterwards.
• A holiday abroad. Check how soon you can fly after your operation: our guide to flying after cosmetic surgery gives the usual waits for short and long flights. Plan for no swimming until your wounds have fully healed, and scars covered from the sun.
• Coming to us from further away. If you are not local, read travelling to London for surgery for how to keep the number of trips down.

How much time off work do you need for surgery?

Most people are back at a desk job within one to two weeks: about a week after breast surgery, five to seven days after liposuction, and at least two weeks after a tummy tuck. Physical jobs need longer. The planner above shows the typical figure for your operation, and our guide to how long recovery takes covers each procedure in detail.

Ask for your leave early. On GOV.UK, the usual rule is that you give notice of at least twice the length of the leave you want, plus a day, unless your contract says otherwise. Your employer can refuse a particular request or ask you to take it at another time, as long as they give you notice, but they cannot stop you taking your holiday entitlement altogether^[7]. Whether recovery from planned cosmetic surgery is treated as sick leave or annual leave depends on your employer, so check your contract or ask HR before you book. You do not have to tell colleagues what the operation is.

Plan your support at home too: a responsible adult to take you home and stay with you for the first 24 hours, help with children, pets and lifting for the first week or two, and someone to do the shopping. Our tips for getting your home ready cover the rest.

Timing breast or tummy surgery after pregnancy

Your body keeps changing for months after a baby, so we wait for it to settle before operating:

• Breast surgery at least six months after the birth if you are not breastfeeding.
• If you are breastfeeding, at least three months after you have completely stopped, and ideally around six, once milk production has fully stopped.
• No cosmetic breast surgery during pregnancy or while you are breastfeeding.

A tummy tuck or mummy makeover works best once you have finished having children and your weight has been stable for a while, because a later pregnancy can stretch the muscles and skin again. Your surgeon will talk through the timing at your consultation.

Common timing mistakes to avoid

The best date is rarely the first one available. I would rather a patient waited a month and recovered calmly, with time to rest and the right support at home, than squeezed surgery in before a holiday and spent the first weeks worrying about it.

Dr Spyridon Vlachos, Specialist Plastic Surgeon and medical reviewer

If you are not sure what fits, your patient coordinator can talk you through the options, and finance is available, subject to status.

References

Guidance comes from the official sources listed.

1. Due E, Rossen K, Sorensen LT, et al. Effect of UV irradiation on cutaneous cicatrices: a randomized, controlled trial with clinical, skin reflectance, histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical evaluations. Acta Derm Venereol. 2007;87(1):27–32. doi:10.2340/00015555-0154
2. Anthony CA, Peterson RA, Polgreen LA, et al. The seasonal variability in surgical site infections and the association with warmer weather: a population-based investigation. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2017;38(7):809–816. doi:10.1017/ice.2017.84
3. Wang CC, Sun K, Lee H, et al. Too hot to handle: investigating seasonal variations in surgical site infections after colorectal surgery. Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2025;26(6):405–412. doi:10.1089/sur.2024.298
4. Mills E, Eyawo O, Lockhart I, et al. Smoking cessation reduces postoperative complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Med. 2011;124(2):144–154.e8. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2010.09.013
5. Department of Health. Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions: final report (the Keogh review). April 2013.
6. General Medical Council. Guidance for doctors who offer cosmetic interventions. In effect from 1 June 2016.
7. GOV.UK. Holiday entitlement: booking time off.